Maybe It Can Be Real

Chapter 11

ALL RIGHTS GO TO SUZANNE COLLINS. I OWN NOTHING.

It's been a few days since I've updated, so here's the ending of the previous chapter:

"Peeta?", I ask timidly. He ignores me and keeps pacing.

"Peeta?", I ask again. I'm scared and worried about him now. My heart drops when he finally looks up at me and I can see his eyes.

I am not met with the kind blue ones I fell in love with.

No, not blue. Black.

****

I can feel my heart thumping throughout my entire body. I haven't been with Peeta when he's had a flashback for a while. I remember how I stopped it, though. I want to kiss him to try and bring him out of the flashback, but I'm not sure what will happen if I move.

We stay in the same positions for a full minute, but the tenseness of the situation drags it on so the minute feels like hours. I can see Peeta's eyes twitching at the corners, quietly assessing me. My mind is going at a hundred miles per hour to try and think a way out of this. Sweat is gathered on my palms, but I don't dare move to wipe them off.

I consider going to Haymitch's, but I'm sure he's out cold. He would be useless. He's the only other person around here, so I have to figure this out myself. I take a deep breath and shift my position slightly. I glance out the window to see if I could jump, but rule it out because I'm on the second floor. Stupid.

My next option is a goodish one: try and talk him out of it. I sit up fully and cross my legs. I realize that I'm shaking. I brush my hair out of my face and open my mouth to speak, but Peeta beats me to it.

"You mutt!", he hollers at me. His voice rings throughout the room. I cringe at his words because I still think they're true.

The muscles in his arms are pulled taut like a rope. That makes my throat go dry. If the other side of him decided to kill me, he would have no problem. He would have no regrets until he came out of the flashback.

"Peeta," I say with a wavering voice, "It's not real. It's. Not. Real."

"Snow told me all about what you did," he spits at me. "You killed my family! You tried to kill me! I wish he was here to watch me kill you."

"It's not true! He was a liar! I would never hurt you or your family!", I say firmly this time. I can't let him get into my head.... yet. "Peeta. I would never hurt you. I would never hurt your family. I helped you in both Games! Remember?", I ask him, trying to resurface the right memories.

His eyes squint at me and he starts to breathe faster. His muscles tighten even more, and he takes a step forward. Oops. That was the wrong thing to say.

Peeta starts to quickly walk to me, so I jump up and get off the other side of the bed. I start to breathe faster as well.

"Peeta....," I trail off. I don't have his gift with words; I don't know what to say. He walks around the bed to me, so I duck and crawl under it quickly. Good thing my bed is tall. I jump up and sprint for the door. I throw it open and bound down the stairs. I can hear his heavy footsteps behind me.

After hopping over the last few steps to save time, I run to the front door. I quickly look behind me and immediately wish I didn't. He's a fast runner, so he is extremely close to me.

I open the door and speed up once I'm outside. He may be fast, but I'm faster; earlier today in the rain proved that. I do the same thing as before: weaving through the houses and gardens, dashing around the fountain, just running to tire him out.